1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a picture print controlling device. More particularly, it relates to a picture print controlling device that is capable of defining a predetermined area of a monitor screen so that a user is able to selectively print and store image information corresponding to a predetermined area of the screen. Consequently, the user can print just the predetermined area on photographic paper, without printing the image information of the remaining area of the screen. Thus, the picture print controlling device may print an image signal having a predetermined location and a predetermined size within the monitor screen according to commands from the user.
Korean Patent Application No. 93-14673 is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
According to the widely-used technique of printing pictures, complex image signals are stored as digital signal in memory, and all of the stored digital signal are read out of memory to print the entire picture. Furthermore, a first picture displayed on a monitor can be partitioned into four or nine parts, and a second picture can be displayed on the monitor by overlaying the second picture on one of the four or nine parts via picture-in-picture (PIP) technology. However, when a user desires to print the image displayed on the monitor, the total image (including both the first and second pictures) must be printed instead of only a portion of the image. These compilation techniques have been already disclosed by various patent applications.
FIG. 1 depicts a circuit block diagram of a device which stores complex image signals as digital signals and converts the digital signals back into analog signals to display them on a screen of a monitor. The block diagram also shows the steps for printing the screen displayed on the monitor by a thermal transmission technique. An example of the device illustrated in FIG. 1 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,197.
According to FIG. 1, a Y/C separator 10 separates complex image signals into a luminance signal Y and a color signal C. The separated luminance signal Y and color signal C are decoded as red, green, and blue signals R, G, and B in a decoder 20, and input as matrix signals into an analog/digital converter 30. The analog/digital converter 30 converts the matrix signals to digital signals based on an analog/digital conversion clock signal ADCK which is output from a controller 100. The analog/digital converter then outputs the digital matrix signals to a memory cell 40. These digital matrix signals are input to the memory cell 40 and stored according to a control signal of the controller 100. Moreover, the digital matrix signals are stored sequentially by address.
The signals stored in the memory cell 40 may be output from the memory 40 to a digital/analog converter 50 according to a control signal and an address signal of the controller 100. Similarly, the signals may also be output from the memory cell 40 to a print processor 80 according to a control signal and an address signal of the controller 100.
The signals input by the digital/analog converter 50 are converted to analog signals. Subsequently, the analog signals are encoded by an encoder 60 and output to a monitor (not illustrated) as complex image signals.
The digital signals input by the print processor 80 are divided into two types of data, data 1 and data 2. The portion of the signals which are radix line data are considered "data 1" data, and the portion which are even line data are considered "data 2" data. The divided signals are then input to a thermal transmitting head 90. The thermal transmitting head 90 sequentially prints an image represented by data 1 and data 2 on a photographic paper by a clock signal, a strobo signal, and a latch signal produced by the print processor 80.
A technique for storing the digital signals, that were converted from the complex image signals to red, green and blue matrix signals, in a memory cell is illustrated by FIG. 2.
FIG. 2A shows an internal construction of the memory cell 40 for storing the digital signal data. In this example, digital data consisting of .largecircle., X, .DELTA. and .quadrature. are sequentially stored in the memory cell 40. If the digital data are read sequentially according to the clock signals as shown in FIG. 2B, the digital data of .largecircle., X, .DELTA. and .quadrature. are converted into complex image signals and are displayed sequentially on a monitor as shown in FIG. 2C.
The complex image signals to be displayed on the screen are converted to digital signals in the following order. The complex image signal which will be displayed in the upper left portion of the screen is converted into digital data first. The conversion continues by converting the complex image signals which will be displayed from the left of the screen to the right of the screen and then from the top of the screen to the bottom of the screen. Then, the digital data signals are sequentially stored in sequential addresses of the memory cell 40. In addition, the digital signals are sequentially read from the sequential addresses of the memory cell so that the complex image signals are properly displayed from the left of the screen to the right of the screen and then from the top of the screen to the bottom of the screen.
A method for sequentially storing the digital signals converted from the complex image signals in sequential addresses of the memory is described with reference to FIG. 3.
The screen of the monitor which displays the complex image signals is partitioned into row and column addresses of a matrix. The overall screen is divided by m row addresses and n column addresses. Therefore the digital signals may be stored in the memory cell according to the corresponding m and n screen address.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram for explaining the construction of a conventional picture print control device and the steps for storing and printing the whole screen. The diagram describes in greater detail the controller 100 of the conventional picture print device shown in FIG. 1.
The following description describes a technique for sequentially storing the digital signals of the whole screen. First, a control part 101 outputs a row clock signal and a column clock signal to a row and column address generating part 102 according to the commands of a microcomputer 70. In addition, the control part 101 outputs control signals to a multiplexer 103 and a memory cell 40.
The row and column address generating part 102 generates a row address and a column address based on the row clock signal and the column clock signal of the control part 101 and outputs the row address and column address to the multiplexer 103. The multiplexer 103 multiplexes the row address and column address according to the control signal of the control part 101. Subsequently the multiplexer 103 outputs the multiplexed address to the memory cell 40.
The analog/digital converter 30 receives the red, green, and blue matrix signals from the decoder 20 and converts these matrix signals to digital signals. The digital signals are sequentially written to the addresses of the memory cell 40 based on the addresses generated by the row and column address generating part 102. After the digital signals are stored, the data may be sequentially read from the memory cell 40 according to the addresses and the control signals generated by the controller 100 and output to the digital/analog converter 50. The digital/analog converter 50 converts the digital signals into analog red, green, and blue matrix signals, and the analog signals are input by the encoder 60. The encoder 60 encodes the analog red, green and blue matrix signals and converts them into the complex image signals to be output.
In addition, the process of outputting the signals stored in the memory cell 40 to the print processor is the same as the one described in FIG. 1. Thus, the picture displayed on the whole screen is printed on the photographic paper, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 1.
By printing the picture as represented by all of the complex image signals, the conventional device cannot print a portion of the whole picture (i.e. a predetermined area) that the user wants to print.